"So, naturalists observe, a flea has smaller fleas that on him prey; and these have smaller still to bite ’em; and so proceed ad infinitum."

- Jonathan Swift

March 28, 2010

March 28 - Wuchereria bancrofti

Wuchereria bancrofti is a nematode parasite found in Africa, South America, and tropical and sub- tropical countries in other locations. This worm uses two hosts: mosquitoes and humans. The microfilarias inhabit a mosquito until they grow into their motile larvae stage. They then move on to a human host; being transmitted during the blood meal of the mosquito. While in the human host they move to the lymph nodes over the course of a year where they then develop into the adult worm stage. Adult worms live 4-6 years in their host and produce millions of microfilaria which make their way into the circulatory system from the lymph nodes. This parasite can cause permanent damage to both the kidneys and the lymphatic system. Damage to the lymphatic system can cause a disease known as lymphatic filariasis in which the lymphatic system stops working properly and the lymph nodes become enlarged. It is estimated that 120 million people in 80 countries have suffered from filariasis. Untreated, this could lead to elephantiasis, a thickening of the skin and tissues which produces large growths on the body. Some drugs have been found that kill these parasites but only in their developmental stage. No current treatments have been found to eliminate adult parasites.

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Why Parasite of the Day? (If it's not every day...)

The United Nations declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity. In celebration of the enormous diversity of parasites and to highlight their importance, we created this blog, which showcased a species of parasite every day. Now that 2010 is over, we will continue to add more parasites from time to time, and write about any newly published research on parasite species that we have posted about yet.

See this post from the start of 2011 where we discuss the sheer scale of parasite biodiversity, and this post from the end of 2011 pretty much summarizes the mission of this blog.

Got Parasites?

Got parasites? The American Society of Parasitologists is interested. We invite you to share with us your observations, ideas and questions about parasites. Our members and The Journal of Parasitology represent a wide range of research interests including ecology, evolution, systematics, immunology, biochemistry and molecular biology. Please post any aspect of parasitology you wish to share with us on our Facebook Group Page. Please go to our home page at http://asp.unl.edu/ and look for the ASP on Facebook link.